Since Canada recognized the Genocide of Armenians nearly a decade ago,
the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa has worked diligently behind the scenes
to have the decision reversed. The Turkish lobby has developed a
higher profile in Ottawa by sponsoring and hosting cultural and social
events; it has helped establish Turkish-Canadian "friendship" groups,
boosted Turkish community organizations, erected several monuments of
some propaganda value, courted politicians and sent them on
"familiarization" junkets to Turkey. Embassy officials have haunted
Parliament Hill corridors with increasing frequency. Meanwhile, the
Armenians have assumed Canada's decision is carved in stone. They have
thus ignored the insidious Turkish threat.

Enter Senator Anne Cools.

Earlier this year, during her speech as part of the senate's "Building
Bridges: Canada-Turkey Relations and Beyond" debate, Senator Cools
called on Canada to repeal its recognition of the Genocide. Has the
longest-serving senator joined the tin foil-hat brigade?

Who is Senator Cools and why she's become an apparent mouthpiece for
the Turkish lobby?

>From the first day she came to the notice of Canadians, Ms. Cools has
been a controversial figure. Older Canadians remember the dramatic and
violent launch of her "career" when she was one of the ringleaders of
a radical posse which occupied Montreal's Sir George Williams
University. During the nearly two-week sit-in her fellow radicals
destroyed the computer centre causing $3-million (almost $13-million
in today's value) in damages. After the riot police put an end to the
varsity insurrection, Cools' "Canadian-style Black Panther" stunt got
her convicted and jailed for four months. One of her
fellow-conspirators was the son of Guyanese firebrand Chedi Jagan.
Another one was from Dominica. Cools herself is from Barbados.

What was Cools' beef? She and her cohorts alleged their teacher was
racist who gave them low marks because of their skin color. Following
the outrage, the committee appointed by the university found "there
was nothing in the evidence to substantiate a general charge of
racism" on the part of the teacher. He was also found not guilty of
racism towards Cools and her gang.

What made Cools crime worse was that the university was celebrated for
its accessibility to a wide range of students from different
backgrounds and social standing. It's possible that the university's
easy-going philosophy enabled Cools and her fellow firebrands gain
admission. Despite the university's generosity, Cools and her arsonist
pals went on a rampage because they felt entitled to higher marks.

Gnawing the hand that feeds her became a habit for Cools. The ingrate
senator crossed swords with Prime Ministers Jean Chretien and Paul
Martin of the Liberal Party--the same party whose leader (Pierre
Elliott Trudeau) had, years earlier, appointed Cools to the senate,
despite her lack of qualification.

While playing the race card got her nowhere first time around, Cools
benefited big time when she was--incredibly and
controversially--appointed senator by Trudeau, the mercurial prime
minister of Canada. Why did Trudeau hand her the sinecure? Was it
because Trudeau wooed Jamaican leaders in Cuba and in Jamaica? Was it
because she was black, a woman, and an immigrant? A hat trick in
Canadian hockey parlance. Prior to getting the cushy appointment,
Cools had been unsuccessful in her attempts to get elected to the
legislature.

In 2007 Liberal Party appointee Ms. Cools jumped ship and joined the
Conservative Party. Three years later the peripatetic senator was on
the road again... this time she crossed the floor to become
"non-aligned". That wasn't the last of her peregrinations: in 2010 she
declared herself Independent.

Throughout her senate career Ms. Cools has tangled with feminists,
called for the resignation of Prime Minister Paul Martin, claimed to
have been assaulted by fellow senators, and exchanged words with Prime
Minister Stephen Harper on same-sex marriage. She was finally turfed
from the Tory caucus after she denounced Mr. Harper and bad-mouthed
the government's Accountability Act. Upon her forced departure Mr.
Harper said she had not attended party caucus meetings "for a long
time." Leaving no stone unturned, Cools also attacked senate
government leader Marjory LeBreton.

Columnist Michele Landsberg of the "Toronto Star" (Canada's
largest-circulation daily) described Ms. Cool's performance during a
widely-publicized hearing with these words: "...when representatives of
women's services and shelters began their allotted five minutes of
testimony, Senator Anne Cools smiled sarcastically rolled her eyes,
and then got up to stroll the room and work the crowd, chatting and
joking with her supporters." She was also accused of brow-beating
presenters to her committee.

Predictably, Ms. Cools has been described as a renegade, anti-feminist
maverick, fruitcake, wing nut, loose cannon, among other epithets. Her
long tenure has elevated her superior airs. Cools carries the
distinction of being the longest-serving senator of recent decades.
Why would anyone loiter at Canada's Foggy Bottom for four decades? In
Cools' case, why not? Considering the perks, pomp and power... and
considering her non-existent political career prior to the Trudeau
gift. Her mandated retirement comes up in four years. There's no doubt
she wouldn't leave a minute sooner. Then, of course, she will
luxuriate in her generous pension, if not become consultant to... say,
Turkey?

There you have it: the life and times of the notorious senator who
wants Canada to repeal its recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Her recent pitch on behalf of the Turkish lobby is, of course, full of
untruths and misdirection. To be kind Ms. Cools is simply ignorant.

Item:

She said that she had doubts about the resolution which recognized the
Genocide. But she was a senator then. Why didn't she raise her voice
when the senate voted? The Armenian National Committee of Canada
(ANCC) met her at least twice. She didn't object to the motion or
raise any concern.

Item:

In her recent pronuncimento (the Latin word is apt since Ms. Cools
likes to impress people by tossing Latin words) she alleged that when
the government was considering the Genocide resolution, Liberal leader
in parliament Sharon Carstairs had opposed its passage. Contrary to
what Ms. Cools alleges, Ms. Carstairs met the ANCC delegation and said
she would talk to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) regarding the
issue. On a subsequent meeting Carstairs' senior policy advisor told
the ANCC that the PMO did not have any objection to the motion.

Item:

In her anti-Armenian outburst Ms. Cools uttered: "The resolution was
adopted, though it was never referred to or studied in a Senate
committee. No witnesses were heard and no evidence was received or
tested." This is also far from the truth. Otherwise why would the
motion "languish" in the senate for over six months? The fact is the
motion was debated, studied, and evidence was presented. As well, the
ANCC representatives were called to the senate's Liberal caucus to
examine the motion with the senators and answer their questions.
Senator and lawyer Jerry Grafstein, one of the most trusted and
experienced legal minds in the senate and in the Liberal Party, was
the lead legal expert in the Liberal caucus who examined the legal
aspects of the recognition. He was supportive of the motion. Serge
Joyal, another leading senator, worked hard for the motion's approval.

Item:

The motion was also debated in the Conservative Party and caucus.
Raynell Andreychuck and Consiglio Di Nino were the lead MPs who
handled the file on behalf of their party. They were powerful
supporters of the motion. The PMO and Foreign Affairs also debated the
issue. Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy told ANCC representatives in
his office: "If you are coming to convince me with historical facts of
the Armenian Genocide, don't waste your time. I know it happened." He
then added: "Unfortunately, there are other players in town [Ottawa]
and they are very influential." It's a safe bet he was referring to
the Turkish lobby.

Item:

Rather than encountering difficulties, the motion passed almost
unanimously. The single objection came from Liberal senator (Lorna
Milne) who was involved with the Canada-Turkey Friendship Group.

Item:

Hard to believe but in her misguided mission on behalf of Turkey, Ms.
Cools incredibly said Canada is the only country in the world which
recognizes the Genocide.

Item:

Ms. Cools also insulted Senator Raymond Setlakwe when she alleged the
senator was a crypto-Armenian who had lobbied Prime Minister Chretien
without identifying his ethnic origins.

Item:

Describing the Genocide resolution, Ms. Cools said: "This is not
proper, fair, just, or consistent with our common law." What, pray
tell, is not proper, fair or just in calling a spade a spade or should
it be yataghan?

Item:

The resolution "was driven by local politics at the riding levels..."
said the voluble senator. So...fewer than 70,000 Canadian-Armenians had
a decisive voice in Canada's relations with Turkey. Perhaps it's the
same omnipotent Canadian-Armenians who have failed, after years of
effort, to persuade Ottawa to establish an embassy in Armenia.

Item:

Ms. Cools quoted Raphael Lemkin to define "genocide", but somehow
didn't mention that the Polish juror had coined the word to describe
what Turkey had done to Armenians.

Item:

Ms. Cools went on to narrate Dogu Perincek's case at the European
Court of Human Rights. This is opportunism par excellence. She didn't
mention that the case has been appealed by the Swiss government and
that many international human rights and genocide experts, including
Turkish organizations, have condemned Perincek. She didn't mention
that Perincek is a notorious racist. Ms. Cools' champion was
convicted in Turkey for his ultra-nationalist and racist activities.
The 60,000-page transcript of his trial is replete with his venomous
declarations against Armenians and other minorities.

And what's the superannuated senator's reason for repealing the
Genocide resolution? Why, to avoid "future conflict and pain." The
arsonist senator has a burning desire for peace.

The ball is in the Canadian-Armenian community's court. In addition to
a collective effort to discourage Ms. Cools from fronting--knowingly or
unknowingly-- the Turkish lobby, Canadian-Armenians should make
certain no opportunistic politician will ever contemplate repeating
the erratic senator's outburst to repeal the Canadian government's
honorable and courageous decision to stand firm against Turkey's
blackmail.

It's redundant to mention the damage to Canada's image if a future
government contemplates reversing its decision which the erstwhile
convict is preaching.

Earlier this month we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of
the Berlin Wall.

Having been born in the 1960s, I believe that this is the most
significant historic event of my lifetime. I am inspired by the forces
that caused the Iron Curtain to crumble, and I am encouraged by the
progress of humanity since that momentous event in 1989.

I remember well the fear of nuclear disaster during the Cold War.

There was a lot of suspicion regarding the people on the other side
of the Iron Curtain, and media on both sides was quick to point out
the terrible things the enemy was doing. Many of us refused to believe
this, however.

We realized that just because someone lived on the other side of a
wall, it didn't make them bad. We hoped and we prayed for peace and
unity in the world. Major changes began in Poland with the Solidarity
movement in the early 1980s.

Then Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. More and
more people believed that the world indeed did have a future. We
continued to hope and pray on both sides, and brave people living
under communism dared to protest and speak out.

Suddenly, on Nov. 9, 1989, an East German government official
mistakenly announced on television that people could leave East Berlin
without an exit visa and that night the wall came tumbling down.

The world has never been the same.

Since that time, the world has progressed in amazing ways. My area
of specialty, genocide studies, experienced tremendous growth. No
longer did we only point out the crimes of the other side, but we
looked honestly at our own.

No longer do we deny that genocide happened in an effort not to offend
important allies; we discuss them openly. I remember being told many
times that the Armenian genocide, which occurred during First World
War, was not a genocide, it was simply a part of a civil uprising in
present day Turkey.

Turkey, of course, bordered on the Soviet Union and was of strategic
importance. Today, the Armenian genocide is seen for what it was,
the first organized genocide of the 20th century, and we recognize
how it led to the Holocaust in the Second World War.

Since 1989, we have come to a better understanding of how genocide
occurs and how it can be prevented. Genocide still happens and
humanity is far from perfect, but a world free of genocide is certainly
possible, as was the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We humans are amazing creatures. We are capable of horrendous evil,
but the vast majority of us truly desire a better world and are
willing to work for it. I am proud to tell my students that I was a
part of a global movement that caused division and fear to crumble.

I am proud to tell them that human rights have advanced tremendously
since I first became politically active in the 1980s, and I am
confident that these fine young people will continue to solve the
problems of humanity and make the world better.

There is a common goodness in humanity that cannot be torn apart,
even by the most fortified wall in history.